Social listening? Don't worry, we're not spying on anyone, we're simply trying to analyze what people are searching for on Google and what they're saying on social media to better understand their needs and desires. It's like reading people's minds, but without using magic powers.
It's not enough just to listen to people, we need to understand what they're expressing and what needs are behind them. Henry Ford, the man who created the world's fastest cars, once gave us a good example: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." Let's never underestimate the power of listening!
Through social listening, it's possible to obtain many insights. If we actively listen to our audience, we can identify behavior patterns, detect the deepest needs and desires, and obtain valuable information about their opinions or feelings towards our brand and/or products. This information allows us to adapt our marketing strategy and product development to better meet the needs of our target audience. Want to know what people really need? Listen to their concerns, desires, and needs!
An example of how social listening can help create more effective product and marketing campaigns can be found by analyzing the boom in gummy supplements. During the pandemic, many people were looking for ways to improve their immune system and better resist diseases. However, searching for "medications" online generated some concern among consumers who showed resistance to taking pills and capsules.
Thanks to social listening, large pharmaceutical companies noticed this pattern and began developing gummy supplements, which became a trend in the supplement market. This example demonstrates how social listening can help companies identify the needs and desires of their audience, and create products, or promote existing ones with less popularity, that better fit the preferences and lifestyle of their target audience.
In summary, social listening is the first step to ensuring that our product will be a success and our marketing strategy more assertive.
P.S. There are several tools that I love to use for social listening analysis. Among the most effective are:
SEMrush: Allows us to know the keywords that people are searching for on Google and thus have an idea of their needs and demands.
AlsoAsked: Shows the questions related to a specific topic that people ask on Google, which helps me better understand the needs and concerns of the target audience.
Answer the Public: Similar to the previous one, this tool shows the questions that people ask on Google related to a specific topic, but in the form of a mind map, which facilitates the identification of patterns and trends.
Google Trends: Allows us to see the search trends on Google for a certain keyword in a specific period of time, which helps identify emerging opportunities and trends.
As for social media monitoring, my favorite tool is Brandwatch. This platform allows us to analyze and measure the reputation of our brand, identify opinion leaders in our industry, and detect trends and opportunities in real time.